Tankers are currently the most profitable vessels in shipping with the cost to charter them remaining high by comparison with other ship types. These freight rates are expected to stay steady for the next 18 months despite a delivery boom of new tankers scheduled for late 2016, according to Devlin McStay, data analyst with IHS Maritime & Trade.
Liner schedule reliability fell to its worst level in 12 months in February when the average on-time performance slipped by 7 percentage points to 62.7 percent, according to Carrier Performance Insight, the online schedule reliability tool provided by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.
The World Container Index's composite index, an average of spot freight rates on 11 global East-West routes connecting Asia, Europe and the U.S., reached a record low of $701 per 40-foot container recently.
Drewry, the global shipping consultancy, has carried out a simulation study of the operational and financial impacts on lines, terminal operators, ports and other supply chain stakeholders as vessel size increases up to and beyond 18,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard metric used to measure a ship's cargo carrying capacity). The study results suggest that the economies of scale, that have been a key feature of the liner industry, may be running out.
The latest Container Shipping Forecaster from Maritime Strategies International reports "flickers of improvement" in February after an opening to the year which saw 1.3 million TEUs of capacity idle, freight rates struggling and the charter market on its knees.
The ocean shipping industry has traditionally used EDI for shipment tendering, booking and milestone tracking. A new solution has emerged that leverages near real time vessel tracking data to improve shipment planning and tracking.
Tanker shipping freight rates are expected to remain firm in the first few months of 2016, but with the influx of tonnage these rates are expected to soften towards the end of the year, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants says that the global capacity of reefer container ships is expected to grow by 20 percent over the next three years. Drewry also reports that perishables moved over the seas in 2014 increased by nearly five percent to exceed 100 million metric tons.
Shipping analysts Alphaliner reported that the two carriers involved in recent container line megamergers – France's CMA CGM (merged with NOL / APL) and China COSCO (merged with CSCL) – are now looking at forming a shipping alliance to compete with Maersk and MSC's 2M.
The latest Dry Bulk Freight Forecaster from Maritime Strategies International reports a deterioration of the consultancy's cautiously optimistic view for improvement in the dry bulk market in the next six months.
